Hiker dies after 150-foot fall at Tuckerman Ravine

September 20. 2013 7:02AMMOUNT WASHINGTON – A 25-year-old man, hiking with friends at Tuckerman Ravine, fell to his death Thursday after he wandered off the trail to get a better look at a waterfall, slipped on wet ground and fell 150 feet.

Fish and Game officials did not release the man's name saying they first had to notify family members.

The accident happened about 5:15 p.m.

The hiker was with some friends when he left the trail to get a better look at a waterfall and fill his water bottle. He slipped and fell about 150 feet landing on a small ledge about three-quarters of the way up the headwall.

Rescue personnel from the Appalachian Mountain Club, Mountain Rescue Services, Mount Washington State Park, Mount Washington Observatory and Fish and Game responded. Fellow hikers, some with medical training, rushed to the scene from as far away as the Hermit Lake shelter, providing initial medical treatment.

As soon as the gravity of the man's injuries became apparent, a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter was called to the scene. It made the flight from Concord in 25 minutes.

Fish and Game, in a news release, said the next 25 minutes ?was a harrowing display of flying in close enough to lower a rescue litter, while maintaining a safe distance away from the sheer edge of the headwall.?

Crews on the ground worked on a small, wet treacherous ledge to treat the injured man and put him into the litter, all in an attempt to save his life.

It was 7:55 p.m. when the patient was lifted into the helicopter and flown to Memorial Hospital in Conway where he was pronounced dead.

Tuckerman Ravine is located ton the southeast face of Mount Washington in the White Mountain National forest.